alt=|thumb|265x265px|Ball gown, 1864
A ball gown, ballgown or gown is a type of evening gown worn to a ball or a formal event. Most versions are cut off the shoulder with a low décolletage, exposed arms, and long bouffant styled skirts. Such gowns are typically worn with opera-length white gloves, vintage jewelry or couture, and a stole (a formal shawl in expensive fabric), cape, or cloak in lieu of a coat. Where "state decorations" are to be worn, they are on a bow pinned to the chest, and married women wear a tiara if they have one. Although synthetic fabrics are now sometimes used, the most common fabrics are satin, silk, taffeta and velvet with trimmings of lace, pearls, sequins, embroidery, ruffles, ribbons, rosettes and ruching. The ball gown at this time had similar features, a full skirt supported by a petticoat, a tight waist achieved by a corset or bodice with a stay to keep the wearer upright and with perfect posture, off the shoulder style and with bare arms.
In the coming years, the introduction of the sewing machine changed the dress market. Middle-class people could now produce their own dresses and with more quality and efficiency than before when they were made by hand. Upper class members of society might still have had their dresses made by a designer but with the turn around time decreased.
Designer dresses were typically part of a designer's collection, having them altered for the wearer. Designers need to know where a dress will be worn to avoid two people from matching. While the style of dress can vary, strapless and sleeveless variations are popular and are typically worn with white long gloves and can be accessorized with bouquets, and sometimes a fan. For most of the 19th century, a headdress with veiling was a popular style as well as a full train attached at the waist and in later years it would attach to the shoulders.<gallery mode="packed-hover">
File:Debutantes having a dress rehearsal, February 2009.jpg
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File:Agnes Melanie Dickson as a debutante, ca. 1890 (9306366314).jpg
</gallery>The traditional ideals of the debutante ball vary based on location in the United States. The debutantes in New Orleans could be seen wearing jeweled crowns and dresses with Medici collars with elongated trains. Texas has variations within its various regions. In Laredo, middle class debutantes wear beaded suede garments. In San Antonio, the dresses are of elaborate colors and covered in beads of different designs. The beads add extensive weight having some dresses weigh in at about 75 lbs. Taft started this tradition when she donated her dress that she wore during her husband's inauguration. Typically the dresses were added to the collection after the president in question had left office but in 1955 the public uproar to see Mamie Eisenhower's inaugural dress was so strong that the Smithsonian changed their policy and added her dress immediately, not waiting until her husband left office.